This morning, the Federal Circuit released a precedential opinion in a patent case. In it, the court vacated and remanded a Patent Trial and Appeal Board judgment that challenged claims were not unpatentable for obviousness. The court also released three nonprecedential orders, two dismissing appeals for untimeliness and one dismissing an appeal for failure to prosecute. Here is the introduction to the opinion, text from the dismissals for untimeliness, and a link to the dismissal for failure to prosecute.
Axonics, Inc. v. Medtronic, Inc. (Precedential)
Medtronic, Inc., owns U.S. Patent Nos. 8,626,314 and 8,036,756 (together, the Medtronic patents), which describe and claim a neurostimulation lead and a method for implanting and anchoring the lead. Axonics, Inc., having been sued by Medtronic for infringement, challenged various claims of the Medtronic patents for obviousness in inter partes reviews (IPRs) under 35 U.S.C. §§ 311–319. In both IPRs, the Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board concluded that Axonics had failed to prove any of the challenged claims unpatentable. Axonics appeals. Because the Board erred in its obviousness analysis, and because the errors cannot be regarded as harmless, we vacate and remand.
Casas v. Department of Homeland Security (Nonprecedential Order)
On March 22, 2023, this court received Julio C. Casas’s petition for review from the January 19, 2023, final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Having considered the parties’ responses to this court’s show cause order, the court dismisses the petition as untimely.
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IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The petition for review is dismissed.
(2) Each side shall bear its own costs.
Kitlinski v. Department of Justice (Nonprecedential Order)
The Department of Justice moves to dismiss the petition for review as untimely. Darek J. Kitlinski opposes. We grant the motion and dismiss.
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IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The motion to dismiss is granted. The petition for review is dismissed.
(2) Each side shall bear its own costs.